Dear Colleagues,
The Snohomish Education Foundation hosted a breakfast last week, and about 150 people from our local community were there. While the purpose of this was to pull together generous donors to raise money for the foundation, a powerful theme of the morning was the recognition that a strong community helps make strong schools and strong schools contribute to the well-being of a strong community.
A good deal has been written about how constituent groups within communities across our country have become isolated from one another. In many places you find that service clubs, schools, local governments (city / county councils, etc), and recreational groups like youth athletics and garden clubs all have come to operate separately from one another ... creating a veritable forest of silos dotting the landscape of community.
At our breakfast meeting, it is important to note that all of those groups were represented. We know that the extent to which these groups do their work in the context of each others' work, better relationships grow over time and new things become possible throughout the community. There is a much freer exchange of ideas, a deepening of trust, and a greater mutual understanding develops. This is what is known as "social capital." Communities with higher levels of social capital are healthier and more able to renew themselves.
True stewardship means choosing service to others over self-interest. As I indicated earlier, the convener for last week's breakfast was the Snohomish Education Foundation. It is easy to see that members of our foundation are stewards of our community. To date, the foundation has awarded Snohomish graduates over $690,000 in scholarships to 738 of our graduates and they have awarded over $2,042,675 in classroom grants to support our staff and students.
To me, our foundation serves as such a clear example of a group of people committed to service to others. Whether or not you and your students have benefited from the foundation's classroom grants, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the value these citizen volunteers add to our community. Please consider sending a note of appreciation to P.O. Box 1312; Snohomish, WA 98291.
Thank you and I hope you have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Bill
May is National Salad Month, so it seems as good a time as any to salute that random melange of veggies enhanced by punchy dressing and substantial bits of protein.
In recent years, the main-dish salad has been elevated from a ladies-who-lunch entree to dinner for everyone. Nearly every restaurant offers grilled salmon, shrimp, steak or chicken draped over its Caesar salad. Plus, who would ever argue that a taco salad or a chef's salad overflowing with meat, cheese and hard-boiled eggs is lightweight fare?
But just like the tired side-salad trio of iceberg-tomato-cucumber, standard dinner salads can get old hat, too. Today, we offer 25 hearty ideas, most of which are plenty sturdy for dinner, and if you don't think so, add chicken or seafood. These ideas are meant as guideline and inspiration. Feel free to substitute or add more or less of anything.
With recipes like Salmon Hash Salad, “Get Their Goat” Salad, and Shrimp Stir-Fry Salad, you are sure to find something your family will enjoy. Visit http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2011916363_salads22.html for 25 easy, substantial salad recipes.
Kudos
Congratulations to Larry Taylor (CMS), who was recently accepted into the Honeywell Educator Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, which will take place June 16-23rd. This is a tremendous honor; approximately 200 educators nationwide are accepted through a highly competitive application process. Way to go, Larry!
Congratulations also to Jean Ingersoll (GPHS), who recently received a $15,000 Murdock grant which will allow her to work for the next two summers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with a scientist studying Heli bacter, which is the bacteria that causes ulcers in humans. Jean will present her findings at a conference in San Diego after the second year.
Jackie-Lynn Dalrymple (VVM) and Colleen Rentko (CV) are proud to announce that both their daughters, Emily (SHS) and Katarina (GPHS) were just named as Academic All-Americans in Lacrosse. Way to go, ladies!
Graduations
Denise Page (CPC) is proud to announce that her daughter, Elise, graduated Magna Cum Laude and a Scholar Athlete (Track and Field) with a BA in English from Whitworth University. Elise’s poetry was published for the second year in a row in the Whitworth Script. She is currently looking for a job in the Seattle area.
Laura Lackey (GPHS) is pleased to announce that her son Eric graduated May 15 from the University of Hawaii with Honors and a degree in International Business and Marketing.
Pete (SHS) and Barb Wilson (SHS) are proud to announce the graduation of their daughter-in-law, Olivia Wilson (Charley SHS ‘03), with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from WSU.